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Cleaner Japan, Easier Ally

This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996.
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October 16, 1992, Page 00030 The New York Times Archives

According to stereotype, public opinion doesn't count for much in Japanese politics. But public outrage over big-money politics is driving Tokyo's most important power broker, Shin Kanemaru, from his remaining political posts.

If the public can sustain its righteous anger, it might transform Japan's one-party system and develop more representative political institutions. Americans have a stake in this struggle. A Japan less beholden to farm voters and faction bosses could be a less frustrating ally.

Mr. Kanemaru acknowledges illegally accepting $4 million from a trucking company. The transaction is alleged to have been part of an elaborate scheme used to pay organized crime figures for silencing critics of a key Kanemaru ally, former Prime Minister Noburo Takeshita.

The prominence of the politicians involved, the link to crime bosses and prosecutors' lenient treatment of Mr. Kanemaru galvanized the public reaction. Business leaders and even politicians joined the chorus of denunciation. In response, Parliament will soon take up limited reforms. These include stiff penalties for illegal contributions and reapportionment of seats in line with population shifts. Reapportionment could dilute the influence of interest groups like rice farmers and better reflect the interests of urban consumers. More far-reaching changes are needed.

A switch to single-member parliamentary districts could sharply reduce election costs and impose unity on party factions. A split of the ruling Liberal Democrats would give Japan two competitive mainstream parties. With continued public pressure, both steps are possible by next year.

The Kanemaru affair is the latest in a series of scandals that have brought down governments. The scale of political contributions has expanded exponentially, bringing calls for curbs on political spending. Meanwhile, drastically changed conditions have undermined the rationale for a dominant business-backed party. Communism is no longer an issue. Japanese corporations are no longer fragile, desperate for political stability. Japan's international interests require rationalized governmental decision-making. And a new generation of urban consumers needs fairer representation.